Niners' move on hold after DiFi intervenes

2006-11-10 11:39:00 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- One day after the San Francisco 49ers announced they were looking to move to Santa Clara, co-owner John York and Mayor Gavin Newsom said today that talks to keep the team in San Francisco "were not closed" and that the two sides had agreed to resume negotiations after Sunday's game.

The announcement followed a meeting this morning between Newsom, York , York's son Jed and Sen. Dianne Feinstein in the senator's San Francisco office.

Feinstein called the meeting after talking on the phone with the Yorks on Thursday concerning the 49ers' conclusion that their proposed new stadium and retail-housing complex at Candlestick Point would not work.

"The mayor was very willing to sit down and agreed to have a meeting this morning," Feinstein said. "The mayor is very determined to do what he can do."

As for the future of the 49ers' proposed deal with Santa Clara, Feinstein said, "I'm not going to discuss that now."

Lisa Lang, spokeswoman for the 49ers, said it now looked like the team would pursue dual discussions with both San Francisco and Santa Clara.

"The doors definitely are not closed in San Francisco, and we are continuing to talk to the city to see what we can work out," she said.

City leaders in both San Francisco and Santa Clara had expressed shock Thursday morning at news of the 49ers announcement they would move, and Newsom promised that the deal was not done.

Santa Clara Mayor Patricia Mahan, when reached today by phone, said it was the first she had heard of the 49ers restarting talks with San Francisco city officials.

"My reaction is that anything the two cities -- San Francisco and Santa Clara -- anything the two of our cities can do to keep the 49ers in the Bay Area is great," Mahan said. "That's the most important thing to me, to make sure the 49ers have an appropriate home in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, so that there will always be a San Francisco 49ers."

Mahan said she is still hopeful, even though the 49ers have apparently decided to re-engage San Francisco.

Newsom was not immediately available for comment. His spokesman, Peter Ragone, would not offer details about the meeting.

The decision comes one day after team spokeswoman Lang, at a press conference, said: "We're 100 percent committed to trying to make it work" at the proposed Santa Clara stadium site.

"To me, the 49ers have always been looking at both of the sites very seriously," Mahan said. "I'm sure it's going to end up being a decision based on multiple factors, including the economics of the situation and the feasibility of the two sites and, most importantly, the game day experience for the fans."

The team informed San Francisco officials late Wednesday they intended to drop plans for a stadium and retail housing complex in San Francisco's Candlestick Point and instead move the proposed development to a parking lot near Great America amusement park in Santa Clara. The 49ers have been trying to rebuild the stadium at Candlestick Point for nearly 10 years.

Infrastructure was the 49er's largest concern, team co-owner John York said Thursday. York cited the high cost of building a huge parking garage and of bringing public transit to Candlestick Point, saying it would have doubled the $600 million to $800 million price tag. He also expressed concern that need for a parking garage would have killed the time-honored tradition of tailgating before football games.

Mahan maintained today that the Santa Clara site wouldn't have parking or traffic congestion problems and would be a better fit for fans than the Candlestick Point proposal.

"The 49ers are going to make their decision on what's best for the fans and what best for the team," Mahan said. "As long as they're staying in the Bay Area, that's what's most important to me."

The San Francisco project's demise also dealt a blow to the city's hope to land the 2016 Olympic games. The United States Olympic Committee is scheduled to make a decision on whether it will recommend and American city

-- either San Francisco, Los Angeles or Chicago -- by the end of the year. Whether the city has a stadium that can accommodate the games' opening and closing ceremonies is central to the committee's decision.